Smelt & silversides

[kimbosaur]

Reviving an old thread - I am very concerned that the "Silversides" I have been feeding are not actually silversides. They look very different from some pics I see on this forum and are pretty much completey white. They also are very tiny...small enough for babies to eat whole no probem. The brand is OmegaOne and I contacted them asking what species they use and they responded:

Thank you for contacting Omega One I apologize for the delayed response.* We've checked with our supplier, and to their knowledge, our silversides do not contain thiaminase. In any case, thiaminase is only an issue in very high quantities; therefore, if you make sure to give your fish a variety of different foods, this will never be an issue. I hope this helps. We look forward to your continued support. Please let us know if you have any other questions.

....not exactly helpful. Are these safe? They are the only brand I could find.

[d_virginiana]

Reviving an old thread - I am very concerned that the "Silversides" I have been feeding are not actually silversides. They look very different from some pics I see on this forum and are pretty much completey white. They also are very tiny...small enough for babies to eat whole no probem. The brand is OmegaOne and I contacted them asking what species they use and they responded:....not exactly helpful. Are these safe? They are the only brand I could find.

Who are you feeding with them? If you're feeding babies, feeder guppies are always an option, even though they can get expensive if that's all you ever feed. I've never used silversides so idk a lot about how they're supposed to look, but is it possible that they just harvested juveniles or something?
I wouldn't worry about it overmuch right now. The majority of the cases of thiaminase poisoning I've read about are with ribbons who have been fed rosy reds their entire lives. I mean, it's better not to risk it if you can help it, but the occasional fish from the 'bad list' shouldn't hurt your snakes, especially if you're giving them plenty of other food items.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

I'm pretty sure I've used those fish you are referring to! They are babies which would explain the white color and their weird black eyes. They are very long and skinny too! I always have to cut them in half. I've used them on occasion with no problems... They don't resemble their adult counterparts in any way though, but that is because they are fry.